The present invention relates to improvements in a feeding and orientation system for articles having a stem portion and a head portion such as rivets or the like.
The feeding of small components such as rivets, nails, screws, etc. to automated equipment using the same is well known in the art and many machines exist for the feeding of such components. Normally, the components are packed in bulk and then are fed to a machine which will take the individual component and then utilize in the manner for which it is intended. Thus, for example, in the electronic industry, automated feeders are utilized to feed the electronic components to pick and place machines which take the individual component and place it on the circuit board in the desired position. Similarly, systems are known for taking articles such as rivets and feeding them to an automated riveting apparatus.
Generally, such systems for feeding individual components function well and it is known, for example, to feed the components by means of a vibratory bowl system which consists of a bowl with its associated vibrator. In this system, the components advance along a track at the periphery of a bowl to an outlet location. Components which are not properly oriented are usually automatically rejected as they proceed along a track.
In the case of objects which have a stem and a head such as rivets and screws, the systems have a relatively high degree of high reliability as long as the stem has a length which is greater than the diameter of the head portion. However, when the length of the stem approximates or is less than the diameter of the head, problems occur in properly aligning the components. This problem is compounded when a machine is obligated to select from a number of different sources of like components. For example, in the case of rivets, the riveting of an article may require different size rivets at different locations. In such an instance, usually a different vibratory bowl is required for each rivet size and one then has a problem of feeding the different rivets to a common point where the riveting apparatus will utilize the desired size of a rivet.